P-05-716Free School
Transport for all Children in Wales – Correspondence from
Arriva Trains Wales to the Committee

Kayleigh
Driscoll

Deputy
Clerk – Petitions Committee

Chamber
and Committee Service

National
Assembly for
Wales

Cardiff
Bay

Cardiff

CF99
1NA

24
April 2017

Dear
Kayleigh

Thank
you for enabling me the opportunity to respond to the Petition
p-05-716 regarding free train transport for school pupils attending
Treorchy Comprehensive school.

We
have been very clear in all of our communication about the change
from the previously free to a paid arrangement that we are having
to manage platform safety differently due to an updated risk
assessment. We introduced safety officers from our security
contractor with pupils now being held behind barriers until the
train has come to a stand in the platform. This operation has a
cost and we are therefore bringing Treorchy School in line with all
other schools on our network where scholar tickets are paid
for.

It
may be helpful if I remind readers of this response that in January
2007, a pupil of Treorchy School died as the result of impact with
a train on Treorchy station. The pupil was looking in the opposite
direction from where the train was approaching, wearing headphones
and had moved very close to the platform edge leaning over the
side. His head was hit by the arriving train, despite the train
horn being sounded. That dreadful and tragic incident has remained
with all of us and influences our regular engagement with schools
on the importance of railway safety across our network.

Since
that incident we have had a number of safety measures in place at
Treorchy station based on the risk assessment. They have included
educational sessions at the school on rail safety, trains
approaching the platform at a reduced speed whilst sounding their
horn, the retiming of the train to arrive earlier into the platform
and a yellow line painted on the platform as a guide to where to
stand safely. British Transport Police (BTP) officers also
regularly attended to review and monitor the situation along with
review of the platform by our cctv monitoring team. Despite all of
those measures and with increased numbers using the train service,
our employees and the British Transport Police raised new concerns
of platform crowding and behaviour by pupils that pointed to a lack
of awareness of the risks of being on an operational train
platform. This required a further risk assessment as a matter of
urgency. The results of that risk assessment warranted immediate
action and we arranged for security staff to be present to ensure
pupils remained behind the yellow line until the train was at a
stand. That has made an enormous difference and reassured me that
this was an important course of action to have taken.

The
cctv images below come from footage taken on a typical day after
school. In the moving images, pupils can be seen touching the side
of the train as it approaches and are exceptionally close to the
moving train and platform edge.

The
educational season ticket arrangement brings Treorchy School in
line with all other schools on our network and has also been
successful in spreading the modal shift, particularly as RCT
Council continues to provide free bus travel for pupils within the
catchment area.

The
petitioner asks Arriva Trains Wales to maintain free school
transport for the following reasons (in black) with our responses
to the point made in bold:

1.Buses
are limited, so train represents the best travel option for many
although it is only the bus service that is provided for
free

We
had seen pupil numbers grow enormously over the years of the free
arrangement. We re-iterate that the introduction of the paid season
ticket is a consequence of the updated risk assessment and the
requirement to staff the platform to manage pupil safety. The
introduction and images above set that point out in more
detail.

2.Pupils
that have to buy tickets often miss trains due to the queue at the
ticket office

We
have tried to make this process as easy as possible by offering the
scholar season ticket which is a discounted product and eliminates
any queue time at the ticket office. Putting an educational season
ticket arrangement into place brings Treorchy School in line with
all other schools.

3.The
good name of the school draws in pupils from a wider catchment
area

We
are proud of our longstanding relationship with Treorchy School and
our actions are solely about ensuring pupil safety at Treorchy
station. We have a very positive and constructive relationship with
the school which continues to this day. The school understands the
rationale for our decision and has valued the free travel
arrangement which they recognise has been an exceptional benefit
for a number of years.

4.Some
trains are only two carriages

Passenger
counts taken by conductors shape train formations used on specific
schedules on the ATW network. The key train that leaves Treorchy
after school is always a 4 car train, unless there are exceptional
operational issues that have made that impossible to deliver.
However, it’s important to remind the petitioner that our key
safety concern has been on the platform rather than on the
train

5.The
barriers put pupils closer to the platform edge

Pupils
are not able to get to the platform edge until the train has come
to a stand in the platform. The introduction of this additional
safety measure ensures pupil safety from the previous issues we had
seen of pupils close to and touching the train on its approach into
the platform

6.Perception that
safety as got worse as pupils are standing on the trains

I
can assure the petitioner that our safety specialists are reassured
that the key safety risk was that of the interface with the train
at the platform edge. This has been satisfactorily mitigated
through our actions. Safety on board remains high, even when trains
are busy with people standing. Trains are built to robust industry
standards that ensure this situation.

7.The
cost of the tickets should be spent on improving safety

That
is exactly what the cost of the ticket is contributing to –
the costs of stewarding and barriers

8.The
cost of the ticket is expensive, even with a 55%
discount

The
discount makes the ticket as affordable as we can make it. In
addition we have given a commitment to the school that pupils in
receipt of free school meals will continue to receive a free travel
ticket and a number of pupils are taking advantage of that
offer

9.As
stated in petition ‘because the passes are provided through
ATW, the school is unable to help parents with the
funding’

If
the school wishes to support parents with the funding of season
tickets, we would facilitate a way to make that happen

I
do hope that my responses enable the petitioner to understand the
rationale for our decision and I will be happy to clarify or
provide any further information as required.